Get ready for “Maharaja,” the Indian (Tamil) movie with a plot full of twists and turns. It’s fast-paced, cleverly written, and a rollercoaster you can’t miss.
A Tamil Movie is a film produced in South India, in the Tamil language (and no, Tamil refers to an ethnicity, not a skin color or personality type). India, believe it or not, produces more movies each year than Hollywood. Bollywood, based in Mumbai, is the epicenter of Indian cinema, while films from the South are known as Kollywood.
The film’s hero, Maharaja (played by Vijay Sethupathi), is a humble barber living in Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu. He’s a single dad, raising his high school-aged daughter, Sothi. Maharaja is a quiet, hard-working man who is devoted to his daughter, her education, and living a simple life.
One day, while Sothi is away at a sports camp, Maharaja returns home from work to find his house broken into. He’s knocked out by an intruder and wakes up in a police station, reporting that the only thing missing is Lakshmi—a trash can.
But Lakshmi isn’t just any trash can. Maharaja tells the police it’s like a guardian angel. Years ago, a truck crashed into his home, killing his wife, but his daughter survived because Lakshmi, a steel trash can, fell and protected her. Since then, he and his daughter have worshiped it as a deity. Maharaja warns the police that if he doesn’t find Lakshmi before his daughter returns, things will go wrong.
The police, of course, are not amused. A missing trash can? That’s not a police case. The chief inspector even threatens Maharaja with a gun to stop bothering them. But Maharaja returns, offering 40,000 rupees for any clue to Lakshmi’s whereabouts and 500,000 more if they find it.
Greedy for the reward, the corrupt police search his house but find nothing missing. They discover Maharaja has millions in his bank account and grow more interested. Maharaja raises the reward again to 700,000 rupees, and the police agree to help.
Maharaja starts showing up at the police station every day, doing whatever they ask, whether it’s errands or odd jobs. But the question grows: Is Maharaja just a simple, stubborn man, or does Lakshmi really hold some deep significance?
Meanwhile, a local gangster storms into the police station, claiming he was beaten half to death over a missing pair of sunglasses that were a gift from a famous actor. After a confrontation at a car repair shop, the owner pointed him toward Thana, the mechanic, who supposedly took the glasses. Later, Thana finds the gangster at a bar and beats him severely.
Maharaja witnesses all of this at the station and decides to follow Thana to his hideout. But why? Is Maharaja tracking down Lakshmi or something else?
In a brutal showdown, Maharaja fights Thana and his gang, eventually overpowering him in a gruesome battle. The fight scenes are raw and unflinching, with blood-soaked violence.
It turns out Thana is a hardened criminal who was recently released from prison. He’s teamed up with a corrupt cop and a notorious villain named Selvam (played by Anurag Kashyap). Selvam, the most dangerous of them all, is a serial thief and killer who also rapes women, burning their houses afterward to cover his tracks.
The movie then shifts to Selvam, who, after another raid, returns home to his wife and daughter. There’s a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment where we see Lakshmi—the trash can—in Selvam’s house. Selvam, oddly enough, is a loving father. He spoils his family with money from his crimes and even orders a gold necklace for his daughter’s birthday.
Selvam leaves the necklace at Maharaja’s barbershop during a visit, so Maharaja goes to return it, coincidentally arriving when the police show up to arrest Selvam for his crimes. Selvam is sentenced to 14 years in prison.
The film doesn’t rely on obvious visual cues like sepia-toned flashbacks, making the timeline tricky to follow at first. However, the story slowly reveals that Selvam, Thana, and the corrupt cop continue their criminal ways, seemingly unstoppable.
But how is Lakshmi connected to all of this? After defeating Thana, Maharaja is still determined to find Lakshmi. As the film progresses, every plot thread, every seemingly random event, pulls together into a gripping web that leads to an explosive finale. There are no loose ends or forgotten characters here—unlike in some TV dramas. Every detail builds to a crescendo of crime, tragedy, revenge, and unexpected twists.
Ticy City highly recommends this nearly three-hour epic, guaranteed to keep you glued to the screen. Every scene, every line of dialogue holds a clue, slowly unraveling as the story unfolds. It’s not the kind of movie that dumps everything in the final moments like a typical detective film. Instead, the nonlinear narrative flows seamlessly, challenging viewers to piece together the puzzle as it plays out.
Maharaja is the second-highest-grossing Tamil movie of 2024. Some call it the most satisfying revenge story of the year, where justice is served in the end. Others praise its raw brutality, heart-wrenching drama, and overall beauty.
Maharaja (Tamil Movie)
Genre: Action, Drama, Revenge, Plot Twists
Written and Directed by: Nithilan Swaminathan
Starring: Vijay Sethupathi, Anurag Kashyap, Natarajan (as the Chief Inspector)
Streaming on Netflix, 140 minutes
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